For Four Seasons
by Juliet's Shadow
Summary: Songpaw, an apprentice of WindClan fought to become the best warrior she could be. This is her story of fun, trust, betrayal and hope. For Misgiving Writer's Four Seasons Challenge. By Songpaw aka Mossshine.


**I'm going to use Songpaw in this one so you could see more of her personality. She is the cat I am in the Challenge Thread for those of you who don't know. This is my 3rd challenge on the Challenge Thread. Please enjoy.**

Songpaw looked at the ever changing leaves in the trees. Leaves varied in color, some the color of her bright green eyes and their bark matching her fur or they were darker, like the pine needles that fell on the island. She enjoyed walking through the stretch of forest she had in her territory but enjoyed leaping through the tall grasses that made up her home. Recently dead with leafbare the brown grasses were slowly fading away, and new grasses were taking its place like the sunrise dissolving the stars.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and saw the cat. He was tall and lean like her with long legs but that is where the similarities end. His pelt was made up of patches of black and brown that melted together like the meadow and the sky did. His blue eyes were captivating and she felt like she might be attracted to him, if he wasn't her brother. "Hush Spiderpaw, if Gorseclaw and Swallowwing find out we're out here then we are going to be in big trouble!"

He let out an arrogant smirk. "Gorseclaw and Swallowwing will not find us! They can barely see over the heather patch." Songpaw rolled her eyes and pushed her brother into the sweetly scented heather flowers and ran off ahead into the meadow. She and her brother were still new apprentices, being apprenticed for a quarter moon, but they knew the territory like it was part of them, which it probably was. She closed her eyes and bounded over the clumps of thistle and sticker burrs to avoid getting them stuck in her pelt. She lifted her nose in the air and sniffed. Rabbit.

She looked in the grass and saw a young, plump rabbit gorging itself on clovers. She perked her ears when she heard Spiderpaw and lifted her tail to tell him to stay back. She pressed her belly low to the ground like a lioness sizing up her pray before she leaped out of the grass. The rabbit was startled and started to run but she caught it quickly, her skills were defiantly in hunting. "Great catch, Songpaw." She was about to purr when she realized the voice wasn't Spiderpaw's. She turned around slowly, the rabbit still in her jaws, and saw the familiar dark brown tabby and white pelt of Gorseclaw.

_Rabbitdung! _"Oh Gorseclaw, I was just doing some… some solo hunting so I could improve my skills without the pressure of the clan on my shoulders." Gorseclaw narrowed his amber eyes and looked over at her then he glanced at Spiderpaw, who was being scolded by Swallowwing. Songpaw hung her head.

They were punished severely for their crimes, being confined to camp for a moon. Songpaw was itching to get out of the camp and run around the wide open moors of WindClan. The camp, though it was decent sized, offered no room for her to stretch her legs. She longed to stretch her legs in the green leaf sun. She glanced at the elders, all were lying lazily on their backs swatting at flies. She snorted and silently vowed never to become an elder. "Songpaw!" She looked up and saw Gorseclaw beckoning her over with his golden- brown tail. "Songpaw, do you remember how to hunt?"

She more than remembered, she had practiced everyday on anything she could. A falling leaf or scraps of moss brought in by the other apprentices, Yarrowpaw and Harepaw- now Yarrowleaf and Harestep. She was ready to practice her perfected skills on a living target. She nodded her head and followed Gorseclaw into the training field. "I thought you said we were hunting."

Amusement shone in Gorseclaw's eyes. "I asked if you remembered how to hunt. I never said we were hunting. Today we are battle training." Songpaw narrowed her eyes and leaped at her mentor. He simply stepped to the side. "Come on Songpaw. You need practice in fighting." He did a simple run and leap and landed neatly on his paws. "You try." Songpaw stretched her legs out and ran a few paces before she leaped. As she landed her paws became twisted up and she felt her nose hit the ground. She let out a frustrated growl.

"I'll never get this right!" She tried the move again, ran and leaped into the air but this time she landed it right.

Gorseclaw went over to his apprentice and brushed her fur with his tail. "You have great hunting abilities so I know we don't have to worry about that so that is why we do so much battle training." Songpaw sighed and kept practicing until she perfected the run leap, the run leap twist and the run slide.

"Good job Songpaw. We'll make a fighter of you yet. Go to your den and rest." She walked to her nest and fell asleep quickly.

Her green eyes opened to the sound of Breezestar calling the clan together for a gathering. "We are going to take Eagleflight, Heatherflower, Ryetail, Swallowwing, Gorseclaw, Sundapple, Yarrowleaf, Harestep, Spiderpaw and Songpaw." The assembled cats started to walk over to the thorn tunnel that would lead them out of camp and to the island where they gathered. The crisp scent of the leaf fall wind filled Songpaw's nose as they walked down to the island.

There were many cats assembled on the island. The musky scent of ThunderClan and the fishy scent of RiverClan were quickly identified. She didn't scent the pine scent of ShadowClan, meaning they weren't there yet. She ran down and saw her friend, Bloompaw of ThunderClan. She quickly ran over to her. "Hey Bloompaw!" The gray and white she-cat looked at her through narrowed yellow eyes, and turned her head back to a group of ThunderClan apprentices. _What's her problem? _She shook her head and walked over to a group of RiverClan apprentices.

"Hey Songpaw!" She identified the cats quickly, Mistypaw of RiverClan was the one calling her over and she was sitting next to her brother, Ripplepaw.

"Hey guys." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you know what's gotten under ThunderClan's pelt?"

Mistypaw shook her gray head and looked at Songpaw with clear blue eyes. "They have been keeping to themselves the entire gathering."

"Who knows what has them." Ripplepaw added.

Spiderpaw came up to the trio with a reddish brown tabby tom and a tortoiseshell she-cat following him. "Hey guys, this is Redpaw and Pinepaw. They are new ShadowClan apprentices." The apprentices looked at the group of cats, both looked nervous. "Don't be scared. The black tom is Ripplepaw of RiverClan, the gray one is Mistypaw, his sister and the brown one is my sister, Songpaw." The cats each nodded their head in turn.

"Oh it looks like they are about to speak." Mistypaw pointed to the high branch with her tail.

Breezestar stepped forward, her gray and brown pelt looked eerie in the moonlight. "WindClan has been good. We have had no unfortunate situations happen to us and are proud to announce we are as strong as ever." Breezestar stepped down and Poolstar of RiverClan took her place.

"RiverClan is doing well too and has been blessed with a new litter of kits born to Willowtail and Minnowclaw. The kits names are Fishkit and Streamkit." The clans, except for ThunderClan, purred at the news.

Replacing Poolstar's place was Emberstar of ShadowClan. "ShadowClan is thriving as well and are proud to announce we have two new apprentices, Redpaw and Pinepaw." When the cheering died down, Emberstar stepped back.

Foxstar's eyes were narrowed into tiny slits. "WindClan has been stealing prey!"

The WindClan cats looked at each other confused for a moment before Breezestar responded. "We have not been stealing prey. The only forest prey we have eaten has been from our own territory.

"That territory should belong to ThunderClan! If you don't give it back we will attack!" Foxstar leaped down from the branch and stalked off, his clan following him closely.

The gather broke up shortly after that, Songpaw and Spiderpaw were told to go to their nests as soon as they reached camp. Songpaw looked at the stars and prayed a silent prayer for her clan's safety.

"ThunderClan attack!" It had been two moons since the gathering where ThunderClan declared they owned part of WindClans land, and they promised they would have it. Songpaw looked at Bloomfall, made a warrior last moon so ThunderClan would have something to brag about and leaped for her.

"Well, well Songpaw. I never thought I would be battling you like this." Bloomfall taunted. Songpaw and Gorseclaw had been training on fighting nonstop ever since the declaration at the gathering. They had trained for everything, even for the snow that rose up to Songpaw's knees.

Songpaw ran around Bloomfall as quickly as she could and leaped on her, landing gracefully on her back. She clawed her shoulder blades and Bloomfall cried out in pain. "You will pay for that!" Songpaw predicted her next move, rolling over onto her back so she would fall off but she stayed on until she hit the snow. She quickly let go and burrowed under the snow, making Bloomfall confused about her whereabouts. When she crept close she leaped out and pinned the bigger warrior down. She sliced her belly until the cat surrendered and ran. In the heat of the battle, Songpaw didn't notice her own wounds and realized she was staining the blood below her red with heavy bleeding from her shoulder. She retreated to the medicine den to get treated, knowing that when WindClan won, she and Spiderpaw would be made warriors.


End file.
